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科学美国人60秒 SSS 有些幼狼具有取回物品的天赋

时间:2020-12-23 05:36:55

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。

It may be one of the doggone doggiest things a doggy can do...

这可能是狗狗能做的最像狗的事情之一。

(CLIP: Dog running and dropping a stick)

(音频片段:狗狗奔跑和丢棍子)

...chasing down a stick or a ball and then bringing it back.

……追棍子或球,然后叼回来。

But when it comes to playing fetch, perhaps the apple doesn't fall all that far from the evolutionary1 tree, because a new study shows that some wolf pups demonstrate the same innate2 fetching skill—a finding that suggests that an ability to playfully interact with people might have been around in ancient wolves before they transitioned into domesticated3 dogs some 15,000 years ago. The work is in the journal iScience.

但说到取回物体的能力,也许狗狗与其祖先的差别并没有那么大,因为一项新研究表明,有些幼狼也表现出了相同的与生俱来的取物能力,这一发现表明,古代狼在大约1.5万年前转化为家犬之前,可能就具有了与人类互动玩耍的能力。这项研究发表在《iScience》期刊上。

Researchers were interested in understanding how domestication4 affected5 canine6 behavior. So they raised several litters of both wolf and dog puppies and ran the little fur balls through a standard series of behavioral tests.

研究人员非常想了解驯化对犬类行为的影响。因此,他们饲养了几窝小狼和小狗,并用小毛球进行了一系列标准的行为测试。

In one of those tests, a "puppy assessor"—someone the animals never before met—would toss a tennis ball across the room and encourage the pup to retrieve7 it.

在其中一个测试中,“小狗评审员”——这些动物从未见过的人——会将网球扔到房间另一头,然后鼓励它们取回来。

Wolf pups in the first two litters tested showed little interest in playing ball. But three of the six pups in the third litter caught on quickly. Two wolves named Elvis and Lenny brought the ball back in two out of three throws, while the intrepid8 little Sting knocked it out of the park—and carried the ball back all three times.

头两窝被测试的小狼对玩球没有兴趣。但是第三窝的六只幼崽中,有三只迅速地叼住了球。研究人员扔了三次球,名为“埃尔维斯”和“莱尼”的两只小狼叼回来两次,虽然勇敢的小“史汀”将球踢出了公园,但它三次都把球叼回来了。

These results were actually unexpected. The researchers had thought that the ability to socially engage with unfamiliar9 humans was something that likely arose after dogs were domesticated. The fact that a few of the wolf pups were up for some fun suggests that the potential for a connection between canines10 and people could have been present from the get-go, giving some wolves a leg up—or maybe even multiple legs up—in becoming our best friends.

这些结果相当出乎意料。研究人员原本以为,与陌生人建立社交关系,应该是狗被驯化后才产生的能力。有些幼狼会找乐子玩,这一事实证明犬类与人类建立联系的可能也许一开始就存在,这助狼群一臂之力,甚至是几臂之力,使其成为我们最好的朋友。

For Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 evolutionary Ctqz7m     
adj.进化的;演化的,演变的;[生]进化论的
参考例句:
  • Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
  • These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。
2 innate xbxzC     
adj.天生的,固有的,天赋的
参考例句:
  • You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
  • Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。
3 domesticated Lu2zBm     
adj.喜欢家庭生活的;(指动物)被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务,烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 domestication a412c94ddc4dddbce0e57281001e9ede     
n.驯养,驯化
参考例句:
  • The first was the domestication of animals. 第一个阶段是驯养动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • In northwestern China, there is no evidence for endemic domestication of any animals. 在中国西北,没有任何当地动物驯化的迹象。 来自辞典例句
5 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
6 canine Lceyb     
adj.犬的,犬科的
参考例句:
  • The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
  • Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。
7 retrieve ZsYyp     
vt.重新得到,收回;挽回,补救;检索
参考例句:
  • He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
  • The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
8 intrepid NaYzz     
adj.无畏的,刚毅的
参考例句:
  • He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
  • John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。
9 unfamiliar uk6w4     
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
参考例句:
  • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
  • The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
10 canines a19dc7100e8d5dd734b7ad167656d5d1     
n.犬齿( canine的名词复数 );犬牙;犬科动物
参考例句:
  • For example, the teeth are more primitive. There are large canines and unusually shaped incisors. 譬如,牙齿更为原始,有大的犬齿和非常合适的门齿。 来自辞典例句
  • Well-to-canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. 富人家的狗在主人上班的时候可以去狗狗托管中心。 来自互联网

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